Soulmates?
by ThereisnoFrenchwordforBooyah
Summary: Soulmate AU, and when Chet and Lorenzo find out that they are each other's soulmates, they try to stay away from each other as possible. Which doesn't go well for them when their parents get married, but now they're stepbrothers, so they can't be in a romantic relationship, right? Rated T, but may turn to an M rating later on.
1. Chapter 1 - Not Sharing is Caring

Okay, so the idea behind this story is that at one point in someone's life, a light will shine from behind their ribcage when that person finds their soul mate, not necessarily when they first meet. Bear with me.

Rated M for language.

Chapter 1 – Not Sharing is Caring

Lorenzo was 16 when he found his soul mate.

His parents divorced last year, and his dad was now dating another woman. She was really nice; Lorenzo didn't have a problem with her.

He had a problem with her son, Chet.

He was unbelievably annoying, his voice, the way he ate, his rhythmic gymnastics classes, all of it drove Lorenzo mad.

When they first met, the boys tried to get along for their parents' sake, but eventually it all went to hell in a hand basket.

For some reason, their parents left them alone at Lorenzo's house for an entire day. It took five minutes before they were fighting again, because Chet was trying to get to Lorenzo's snack stash.

"I'm hungry! Just let me have one!" Chet complained, trying to push Lorenzo out of the way.

"Get your own, shit-bag!" Lorenzo retorted, trying to shove Chet off of him while blocking the pantry door at the same time.

"You get your own!"

"These are my own!"

Chet tried to reach past Lorenzo's head to get to the snacks, and Lorenzo turned his head and bit Chet's arm. Chet cried out in pain and pulled his hand back.

"No fair!" he exclaimed.

"Only if you're you!" Lorenzo mocked. "Now get off me!" He kicked Chet in the stomach, sending him to the floor.

Chet's face was livid. His features were lit from below, making him look a little extra menacing.

Wait a minute, that didn't make sense… his face couldn't be lit from below.

Lorenzo looked down at Chet's chest, and saw a light shining from behind Chet's ribcage. It was red, and flickered on and off in time with his heartbeat (assuming he had a heart). Lorenzo's eyes widened with shock, and he looked back up at Chet's face, which had the same expression. Chet's eyes were focused on Lorenzo's chest, and sure enough, when Lorenzo looked down, he saw the same light shining through his own shirt.

That meant they were…

No. It couldn't be. The very idea made Lorenzo throw up a little in his mouth.

Lorenzo looked back at Chet's face, where shock had been replaced by pure terror as he looked between his own chest and Lorenzo's. When he finally looked at Lorenzo's face, all he could say was:

"N-no."

Lorenzo didn't want it to be true either. He didn't want to face it. So he did the logical thing, grabbing his entire snack stash, running into his room, locking the door, and pigging out under the bed sheets.

When their parents came back after what seemed an eternity, and Chet had left with his mom, Lorenzo tried to convince his father to end his relationship with Chet's mom.

Of course, he said no, and Lorenzo knew that once his dad had put his mind to something, he would never give up on it. Given his dad's stubbornness, Lorenzo didn't press any further. Which meant that a proposal was inevitable. Lorenzo even helped pick out a ring (although very reluctantly). He saw the ring out the corner of his eye, a simple little gold band with a diamond in the middle, the one you always see in movies. An image came into his head of the ring on Chet's finger. He rubbed his eyes, an attempt to remove the image from his memory. He was honestly scared that his brain came up with an idea like that. It made him retch. When his dad asked him what was wrong, he said nothing. If his dad married Chet's mom, he and Chet would be stepbrothers. Which meant the image in his head would never become a reality.

Good.

Lorenzo was in his room at the moment of the proposal, when suddenly he heard:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

That was definitely Chet. A few minutes later, he heard angry footsteps coming down the hallway, and his door was kicked open to reveal Chet, who had never been so furious before in his life.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!" Chet screamed.

"Well, I ain't exactly jumping for joy either." Lorenzo replied calmly.

Chet looked like he was going to either explode or break something, namely Lorenzo.

"You would have done the same." Lorenzo stated.

"DONE WHAT? WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE?" Chet yelled.

Lorenzo walked past Chet and stuck his head out the door, looking down the hallway before closing the door and looking back at Chet.

"Chet, listen to me before you burst an artery. If they get married, what does that make us?" Lorenzo asked.

Chet thought for a minute before answering. "Stepbrothers?"

"Exactly. Which means that we can't be soul mates, right? According to other people."

"R-right."

"So, we do nothing, we say nothing, and no-one suspects a thing. Maybe if we wait long enough, we'll find other people who are also our soul mates, and if not, we only have to wait until we go to college, and then we only have to see each other on Christmas. Okay?"

Chet calmed down a bit. "I hate you." He stated.

"I hate you, too. Now get out of my room." Lorenzo replied.

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2 - The Wedding

Chapter 2 – The Wedding

Lorenzo didn't know how long it would be until he cracked.

When Chet and his mom moved in, Lorenzo had to put up with Chet 24/7. When the boys had to start sharing a room, Lorenzo thought he would go mad because when Chet snored, it was like a thunderstorm was just outside his window. Chet stole his snacks, used up his toothpaste, hogged the TV, and did everything that drove Lorenzo crazy.

Lorenzo, for his part, was trying to keep his calm. He did nothing and said nothing, except for glaring occasionally. Just one more day, he told himself, just one more.

Then came the day of the wedding.

Lorenzo and Chet were literally the mourners at a wedding. Lorenzo didn't pay much attention to the actual ceremony, although he remembered hearing the guy saying, "speak now or forever hold your peace", and he remembered saying nothing. He wished he'd said something.

He thought Chet had tried to say something, but his aunt put a hand over his mouth.

There was a party afterwards, and Lorenzo stayed as far away from Chet as possible on the other side of the room. He sat at a table all by himself, picking at the tablecloth. At one point he saw that a few of his dad's friends had left a bottle of wine on the table next to him when they left. He knew he shouldn't. He was only 16. He stood up and walked over to the table, grabbing the bottle of wine and an empty glass. Maybe just one, he thought.

He sat back down at his table a poured himself a half glass. It was red, and upon tasting, really, really sweet. Too sweet. So sweet it was almost sour. Without thinking, he finished the glass and was pouring himself another one.

And he finished that one too. And another, and another. His vision started to get blurry. He reached for the bottle again.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Lorenzo paused in his movement. He looked to his right to see Chet standing next to him. Couldn't Chet just leave him alone for once?

"None of your business, shit-bag." Lorenzo retorted. He continued to reach for the bottle, only for Chet to set it on the other side of the table and grab his arm.

"We have to go home." Chet stated. He pulled Lorenzo up onto his feet and started walking towards the exit.

Lorenzo didn't want to go home. Not if Chet was there. If Chet was there, then it wasn't home anymore; it was the embodiment of all the things he didn't want to face. Lorenzo tried to pull his arm out of Chet's grip.

"No…" he slurred.

Chet pulled harder on his arm. "Yes, Lorenzo, we're going."

Lorenzo put his entire body weight into leaning back and Chet had to pull even harder on his arm until Lorenzo swore it would fall off. Suddenly, Chet yanked on his arm hard enough to make Lorenzo fall forward into to Chet's arms. Chet then picked him up and carried him bridal style towards the door.

"Put me down, jerk!" Lorenzo exclaimed. He kicked and pounded his fists against Chet's chest.

"Would you- ow! -Would you stop? You're causing a – AH!" Chet cried out in pain when Lorenzo punched him in the face, breaking his nose. He dropped his new "stepbrother" and covered his bleeding nose. People turned their heads at the commotion.

"You asshole! I'm trying to help you!" Chet yelled.

"Well, don't!" Lorenzo yelled back.

"What's going on?" Lorenzo's dad came up to them, and the whole room went quiet, save for a whisper here and there.

Lorenzo stood up. "Nothing." He said. He didn't exactly want to tell him about the wine. "Let's go." He made towards the door.

"Whatever. Daddy's girl." Chet muttered.

Lorenzo stopped in his tracks. Oh no, he did _not_. He balled his fists and gritted his teeth, trying to maintain a blank expression as he turned to face Chet. There was _no way_ that Lorenzo was going to be called a girl. Sensing Lorenzo's anger, his father tried to step between the two before things got nasty.

"Lorenzo, don't-" he began.

"What did you call me?" Lorenzo asked, dangerously quiet.

Chet grinned, while Lorenzo's dad decided he didn't want to be caught in the middle of a brawl, and so stepped back.

"You are, aren't you? You're a daddy's girl." Chet mocked.

That was the moment that Lorenzo cracked.

He screamed and threw himself at Chet, both of them kicking, punching, biting and scratching until Lorenzo's dad and a few of his friends managed to pull them apart. They went home covered in bruises, cuts, scratches and bite marks alike, not to mention Lorenzo's hangover in the morning. Their parents had to cancel their honeymoon plans to make sure that the two didn't kill each other while they were gone. Lorenzo spent the rest of that evening vomiting into the toilet while Chet held his hair back. Lorenzo didn't know why he bothered, but didn't ask. The next morning, he woke up wrapped up in so many blankets, he couldn't move. He wasn't even in his own bed. He was in Chet's. He looked over to his desk, where Chet had fallen asleep. He had a massive headache, and the morning light coming in from the window was hard on his eyes. He groaned, which caused Chet to stir and wake up.

"Oh. You're awake." Chet slurred.

"You think?" Lorenzo replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Need anything?"

"Why do you care?" Lorenzo tried to move his face out of the light.

Chet noticed the movement and went up to close the curtains. "Better?" he asked.

"Yeah." Lorenzo replied.

"You should probably go back to sleep, then."

"Um… Chet?"

"Yeah?"

"I really need to pee."

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3 - The Race

Chapter 3 – The Race

"But, Dad…"

"I don't want to hear it Lorenzo. You're going to participate in the Race whether you like it or not."

"But why Chet? Seriously, you could have picked anybody else!" Lorenzo complained.

"Lorenzo, it's already done. Now please leave, I'm quite busy." His father stated coldly.

Lorenzo fumed and stormed out of his dad's office, going down the hallway to his room to sulk. He slammed the door shut behind him. How could his dad just do that? Lorenzo was his son. How could he be so cold and uncaring? He pulled himself up onto the top bunk and stared at the ceiling. His mom would never do this to him.

Because she doesn't care, replied a voice in his head. She wouldn't do anything for you.

Lorenzo sighed.

* * *

There was no way they were going to be friends. Chet and Lorenzo spent every waking moment either fighting or glaring at each other, and everyone quickly learned not to get in their way unless they wanted to be severely injured. If you stood close enough to one of them, you could feel the hate seeping out of their very skin.

However, if you stood next to Lorenzo during the gymnastics challenge in Romania, you'd feel something very different.

Lorenzo just stood there with his mouth hanging open as he watched Chet absolutely nail it on the balance beam with perfect form. Chet was beauty, grace and strength, like Josée. No, _better_ than Josée. No one could even come close to comparing.

So when Jacques walked up to Chet and insulted his performance, Lorenzo flew in and insulted Jacques' face by breaking his nose.

"Jacques!" Josée exclaimed from the other side of the room. She ran over to tend to her partner, while Lorenzo grabbed Chet's hand and they ran to the Chill Zone to snag first place. Lorenzo cheered.

"Let go of my hand, dork!" Chet demanded.

Lorenzo looked at their hands. Their fingers were intertwined so perfectly. He almost didn't want to let go. But one look at Chet's scowl meant he had to. He loosened his grip enough for Chet to yank his hand away and storm off.

At that point, Lorenzo realised that he was in this way over his head and he was drowning.

And he loved it. More importantly, he loved Chet, his stepbrother, and his soul mate.

Then Chet threw his dinner at him and banished those thoughts from his head. Things were back to normal.

* * *

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Chet asked.

"You wear it. I'm not the girl." Lorenzo stated.

"And I am?"

"You said it, not me!"

There was no way Lorenzo was going to wear the skirt. Not going to happen.

"If I wear it, you have to carry me across hot coals." Chet stated.

"Why do you care?" Lorenzo asked.

"I don't."

"So you wear it."

"But you'd look better in it."

Lorenzo looked at Chet and raised one eyebrow. Oh, so that's what it was about, huh? That gave Lorenzo an idea.

"Oh, really? Why's that?" he asked smugly, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

"Uh…" Chet blushed. He didn't like the look on Lorenzo's face. That was his idea face, and Lorenzo's ideas were bad news. "Well, you… your body is better looking than mine." He blurted out, and his blush darkened.

"You know what I think?" asked Lorenzo. He looked for cameras, of which there were none, before leaning on Chet's shoulder and making sure their faces were very close, before he whispered:

"I think you want to carry me in your big, strong arms so you can show off your soul mate to everyone watching at home, and you want me to just sit there and be your beautiful, blushing bride. I think you want me to wear the skirt and nothing else, so that after the challenge, you can pound me into your mattress until the springs break."

Chet's whole face was redder than a tomato when Lorenzo finished talking. He leaned in, trying to close the distance between their lips. Lorenzo stopped him with his hand covering Chet's mouth.

"After." Lorenzo whispered. "And only if you wear the skirt."

Chet made a noise of frustration and walked off carrying the skirt. Lorenzo chuckled.

"Whoa. What did you say to him?"

Lorenzo turned around to find Kitty standing next to him. She was wearing the maile leaves and no shoes. Or did she wear boots? He couldn't remember.

"Uh… just… actually, it's none of your business." Lorenzo stated, crossing his arms.

She gasped. "Are you two soul mates?" she asked.

Lorenzo's eyes widened with shock. "How do you know?" He asked. "Did Chet tell you? That son of a –"

"No. I can just tell when people are soul mates. So, uh… oh." Her eyes widened as she looked into the camera. "Oops." She stated.

Lorenzo's heart filled with dread. Where the hell did they come from? "Uh… how much of that did you hear?" he asked the camera crew.

"We heard the part about you being soul mates with your stepbrother." Answered the one holding the boom mike.

"Boy… I wonder what your parents are thinking if they're watching this right now." Kitty said.

Lorenzo just looked into the camera. "Hi, dad. And… Alice." He said, timidly.

"Okay, I'm ready." Chet came out from behind a bush wearing not only the skirt, but also a coconut bra. Half of his ass was hanging out of the skirt, meaning that he wasn't wearing any underwear. This would most definitely give Lorenzo nightmares. Lorenzo pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to Kitty.

"Please don't tell anyone." He whispered.

"I won't." She whispered back, before walking away to join her sister.

"What was that about?" Chet asked.

"Nothing." Lorenzo replied. "Let's get this over with."

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4 - Not Like Himself

Chapter 4 – Not Like Himself

"Kitty, what have I told you about our "competition"?" Emma asked angrily.

"I know, never trust the other players, evil, bad, blah, blah, blah." Kitty replied sarcastically.

"So why were you talking to the Stepbrothers?"

"Relax, I just asked Lorenzo what he said to convince Chet to wear the skirt."

"Remind me which one is which?"

"Lorenzo is the skinny one. Chet… isn't."

"Oh, right. So, what _did_ he say?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell me."

"But you talked about something."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"So, what was it? Oh, don't tell me, they're soul mates or something?"

Kitty didn't say anything. Emma's eyes widened and she laughed.

"You're kidding, right, Kit?" When Kitty didn't reply, Emma laughed harder. The other racers turned their heads towards their table, and Kitty grimaced.

"So let me get this straight…" Emma began, almost out of breath. "The Stepbrothers… are… soul mates?" She said loud enough for Lorenzo and Chet to hear at their table on the other side of the dining area. Their eyes widened with shock.

"Kitty!" Lorenzo exclaimed.

"I didn't tell her! She just guessed!" Kitty yelled in her defence.

Some of the other racers laughed with Emma, namely the meaner ones, Josée, Jacques, Noah, Stephanie, Taylor, Macarthur, Dwayne, and even Devin. Lorenzo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Great. Now everyone was going to make comments. They always did, especially when it was scandalous. Soul mates were considered a very important and serious matter, so if two siblings were discovered to be soul mates, there would most definitely be comments. The nicest comment one could make was "that's unfortunate". Lorenzo would be hearing a lot of that in the future.

"YOU TOLD HER?" Chet practically screamed at Lorenzo.

"What? No, she just guessed." Lorenzo replied calmly. He was too tired to argue right now.

"BULLSHIT!" Chet was going to lose his voice if he kept screaming the way he was. Actually, come to think of it, Lorenzo could live with that. "HEY, DADDY'S GIRL! ANSWER ME!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Lorenzo retaliated. He suddenly felt a new surge of energy, enough to take Chet down in a fight.

"YOU HEARD ME, BITCH!"

Lorenzo tackled his stepbrother to the ground. They wrestled for a bit, the other racers still laughing at them, before Chet eventually fought his way on top, holding Lorenzo down by squeezing his hands tight around Lorenzo's throat. Lorenzo clawed at Chet's hands and arms, before going limp. Chet loosened his grip, and realised that Lorenzo was unresponsive. Chet's heart started beating faster than he thought possible. He shook Lorenzo; unaware that everyone around him had stopped laughing. All that mattered right now was Lorenzo, and if Lorenzo were dead, Chet would never forgive himself.

"Lorenzo! Wake up! Oh, please wake up!" He shook Lorenzo more vigorously. Tears welled up in his eyes.

But they never left his eyes, because Lorenzo started to laugh. Chet let go of Lorenzo and blinked in shock. He was furious that Lorenzo had tricked him, but also glad because at least Lorenzo was alive. His heartbeat returned to normal. He let out a sigh of relief before punching Lorenzo in the stomach and storming off to the trailers.

* * *

Later that evening, Lorenzo came out of the showers and started walking towards the trailers when he saw Chet sitting on his own at a table. He walked over and sat opposite from his stepbrother, who had a cup of hot chocolate in front of him. Chet didn't acknowledge Lorenzo's presence, instead watching the marshmallow melt in his drink.

"Hey." Lorenzo stated. Chet grunted in response. "You okay?" Lorenzo asked.

"No." Chet replied.

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you care?"

Lorenzo sighed. That was a pretty good point. Why did he care? That wasn't like him at all. He supposed he was too tired to argue or poke fun.

"Chet?" he asked.

"What?" Chet responded.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… uh, done… what I did." Lorenzo felt awkward. He wasn't used to apologising. It just wasn't something he did.

Chet looked up, and Lorenzo saw that his eyes were red from crying. Chet wasn't normally a crier, unless he was watching Dumbo. He could go through a whole box of tissues when he was watching that movie. Lorenzo sighed.

"Chet?" Lorenzo asked again.

"Yeah?" Chet replied.

"Do you ever… feel like… like one minute, you want something so badly that it hurts, and the next minute you wish it was off planet?"

"That something being…?"

"You."

"What?"

"That something being you. Like, sometimes I want you so bad, I'd do literally anything for you, and I'm just not myself… and the rest of the time I wish I'd never met you, and everything's normal. Do you know what I mean?"

"Y-yeah."

"If this is love, I hate it."

"Me too."

"Hey, we finally agreed on something. That's not like you at all."

"Shut up."

End Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5 - After Australia

**Warning: They make out. You have been warned.**

Chapter 5 – After Australia

For the next couple of days, Kitty must have apologised a thousand times, even though Lorenzo constantly reassured her that it wasn't her fault. And, of course, there were comments. Jacques made comments the most often, and they were the nastiest. Lorenzo almost broke his nose again.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo and Chet switched between loud fighting and quiet love, but no one was sure when they would change. Sometimes, it would gently incline from one to another, and sometimes it would be a blink-and-you'll-miss-it change. Of course, they always fought on camera, but sometimes, someone would get a shot of them possibly getting along. When the crew stopped filming, it could be one or the other, but there was no particular pattern.

Well, until they started making out.

Chet was the one who started it. Lorenzo wasn't really into it at first… but he couldn't deny that he liked it. It was hot, it was passionate, and it was… really weird. But it was nice. They never did it in front of the others, of course, but Chet often dragged Lorenzo behind the trailers for another session, more often than Lorenzo would have liked, really. Being the more sexually frustrated of the two, Chet just couldn't get enough. And he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Sometimes Lorenzo had to tie Chet's hands together behind his back if he felt that Chet was getting too close to a strictly hands-free zone. And if he felt that Chet was acting too dominant over him, he would just walk away, which made Chet _really_ grumpy. And they went back to absolute loathing again. That was the pattern.

However, after Australia, things were a little different.

Their make out session was definitely more intense that night. At first, their tongues fought for dominance, with Lorenzo eventually winning and Chet surprisingly not caring. Tonight, Lorenzo decided to let Chet's hands roam his body, sliding over slender hips, underneath his shirt and up his back, making him shiver. Lorenzo kept his own fingers gripped firmly in Chet's hair, pulling hard when Chet's hands were too far down. Chet learned quickly to keep his hands above Lorenzo's hips. Undying hate had been replaced by unconditional love when they realised that they had so much in common and they were, in fact, not so different. They weren't just lovers anymore, they were friends too. Lorenzo didn't have a lot of friends (or friends, period), so this was a pretty big deal for him.

Lorenzo pulled back on Chet's hair enough for him to breathe.

"I think… I think maybe we should go to bed now, Chet." He whispered. Chet groaned.

"Don't wanna go to bed." He complained.

"Yeah, but I do, and you look like you seriously need some sleep." Lorenzo whispered, looking at the bags under Chet's eyes. Lorenzo tried to step away, but Chet pulled him in closer for a hug, burying his nose into the crook of Lorenzo's neck.

"No…" He whined softly.

"Chet, you need sleep." Lorenzo hissed.

"You can't tell me what to do. You're not my mom."

"No, but I am your stepbrother, soul mate, _and_ friend, so–"

"Friend?"

"Sure."

"I don't have a lot of friends."

"I don't have any friends."

"But you have me now, right?"

"Well…"

Chet pulled away and crossed his arms. Lorenzo sniggered.

"Aren't friends supposed to be nice to each other?" Chet hissed.

"Yes, and friends also tell each other to _go to bed_. When they have _stuff to do tomorrow_ , like exams or _winning races_. Now, _come on_." Lorenzo hissed back. He grabbed Chet's hand and tried to drag him out from behind the trailer, but Chet pulled him back and started kissing him again.

"Five more minutes." Chet mumbled, placing his other hand on Lorenzo's hip.

"Fine, but I'll be counting." Lorenzo hissed.

End Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6 - Coming Home to Mom

Chapter 6 – Coming Home to Mom

Being sent home was the worst thing that could happen to them right now. They boarded the plane battered and scratched after their encounter with the kangaroo/albino rabbit. Lorenzo hoped to come home with a million dollars, and their parents would focus on that instead of the fact that he and Chet were soul mates. He knew Chet's mom would understand, but his dad… well, he wouldn't just disown Lorenzo for this… right?

Lorenzo started picking at the fabric of his seat. Chet had to hold his hand to get him to stop, but then regretted it, because Lorenzo's hands were sweating like crazy. After a while, Chet let go, and both of their hands were literally dripping with sweat.

"Ew, gross." Chet complained.

"Sorry, I'm just nervous." Lorenzo stated, starting to pick at the seat fabric again.

"Dude, your hand reeks, like, phwoo-ee, man!" Rock cut in.

"Thanks, Rock. That's really helpful." Lorenzo replied sarcastically.

"Why are you always so serious, dude? You really just need to relax. It probably won't be as bad as you think. Like when my parents found out that me and Spud were – ba-dum ba-dum – soul mates, they were like – wha-a-a-a-a-at? – at first, but then they were like – pssh – totally cool with it. And Spud's parents were so chill about it, they were like, "that's cool, soul mates will be soul mates, and people just need to accept that." So I don't think your parents will be too mad about it, 'cause they really can't do anything about it."

"But you and Spud are friends. You're not related." Lorenzo argued.

"But neither are you and Chet." Rock retorted.

"He's right, you know." Chet stated.

"Yeah, but-" Lorenzo began.

"Lorenzo, I think Rock's got a point. It probably won't be as bad as it could be. We know that my mom won't make a big deal out of it; it's just your dad we need to worry about. In the meantime, relax. We've got 24 hours to kill, so don't think about it, okay?" Chet kissed Lorenzo on the cheek, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers again. Lorenzo sighed, and rested his head on Chet's shoulder.

"Fine, I guess." He mumbled before slowly falling asleep. He was really tired.

* * *

Every step closer to home made Lorenzo more nervous, therefore making him sweat more. They had a plan, which was Rock and Spud would go with Lorenzo and Chet, and if things went really badly, the stepbrothers could crash at Rock's house. When the taxi pulled into the driveway of Lorenzo and Chet's house, Lorenzo wished he could fly straight into the sun. He was glad that Rock and Spud were there at least, supporting them. He walked up to the front door, with his three new friends standing next to him. He steeled himself, and knocked.

He heard the familiar sound of slippers shuffling on carpet, and the door opened to reveal Chet's mom, a short, plump woman in her 40's wearing a pink, fluffy dressing gown and bunny slippers. It's fair to say that Chet looked a lot like his mom. They had the same mousy brown hair, except her hair was greying a bit, the same pointy nose, and the same eye shape, but her eyes were green, while Chet's were brown.

Chet and Lorenzo just stood there awkwardly in front of her, still broken and bruised from yesterday's events, with black eyes, scratches, scrapes and cuts alike.

"Hi, mom." Chet said weakly.

She embraced both of her sons in a warm hug. Lorenzo felt especially awkward. He wasn't used to this.

"Hi, Alice." He said timidly.

"I missed you two so much! I'm so glad you're okay!" She exclaimed. She pulled away with tears welling up in her eyes, and noticed the presence of Rock and Spud. "Are these your friends?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"Uh, yeah, hi, I'm Roderick, and this is Spud." Rock stated, gesturing to himself and Spud, holding out his hand.

"Oh, right, it's nice to meet you." She replied, shaking Rock's hand. "Come in, come in." She went back inside, and the four boys followed her to the kitchen.

"Do you boys want some orange juice?" She asked.

"Yes, please." The four of them replied simultaneously.

She poured four glasses and set them on the counter before leaving the room momentarily, coming back with her arms full of bandages and disinfectants, setting those on the counter so she could pull two ice packs out of the freezer, giving one each to Chet and Lorenzo to put over their bruised eyes. She then got to work disinfecting their cuts and putting bandages on every cut, scratch and scrape she could find. When she was finished, she gave them each a tender kiss on the forehead. Lorenzo felt a little weird. He _really_ wasn't used to this.

"Um, Alice?" Lorenzo asked.

"Yes, sweetie?" She replied.

"Is my dad in his office?"

She nodded. Lorenzo sighed and set his ice pack and half empty glass of orange juice on the counter before standing and slowly walking towards the door.

"Lorenzo, wait." Alice walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want someone to go with you?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine. But thanks anyway." He answered. He knew that this was something he had to face on his own.

Alice gave Lorenzo another hug. Lorenzo hesitated a bit before returning the hug, and mumbled something that sounded like "thanks mom". He pulled away and went into the hallway, turning left and stopping in front of the door next to the kitchen, which was his dad's office. He steeled himself, but he would never be ready for whatever was about to happen once that door opened.

He knocked.

End Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7 - Coming Home to Dad

Chapter 7 – Coming Home to Dad

"Come in." Lorenzo heard his dad's voice from the other side of the door. Lorenzo slowly turned the doorknob and gently pushed the door open, seeing his dad sitting at his desk, wearing his reading glasses and going through some paperwork. He looked up to see his son standing in the doorway, covered head to toe in bandages and bruises.

"Lorenzo." He said, taking off his glasses. "I see Alice already got to you."

Lorenzo smiled half-heartedly (but it looked like he was wincing).

"Can I sit down?" Lorenzo asked quietly.

"Of course." His dad replied. Lorenzo walked over to the corner and flopped down into the other chair, while his dad set his paperwork aside and walked over to the mini fridge, pulling out a bottle of red wine and grabbing two glasses, setting them on the desk. Lorenzo looked at his father with a confused expression.

"Chet told me about the wine you drank at the reception." His dad answered his thoughts. Lorenzo rolled his eyes and sighed, while his dad poured them both a glass, handing one to Lorenzo. Lorenzo took the glass and slowly drank it. It made some of the pain go away, but it was mostly dulled. When he finished, all he said was:

"That's a good year."

His dad chuckled. "I have a few beers if you want to try those." He suggested.

"No, I'm okay. This is better." Lorenzo responded. "I wanted to talk to you about… me and Chet. You know, with the whole soul mate thing and all." He stated.

"I heard about that. Why didn't you ever tell me?" His dad asked.

"I… I knew you really loved Alice, so… yeah. I wanted you to be happy, I guess."

"But that's not the real reason, is it?"

"…No."

"So what was it?"

"I just thought you… I thought that it wouldn't matter."

"You thought I wouldn't care."

"Yes, but I also wanted to hate Chet. I thought if I saw him everyday, it would be easier for me to hate him, but then you made us participate in the Race… it made it harder."

"And how do you feel about Chet now?"

Lorenzo didn't reply, instead looking down at his feet, mumbling something under his breath.

"Come again?" His dad asked.

"I love him. A lot. He's not just my soul mate, he's my friend and my stepbrother, and I don't ever want to be without him." Lorenzo stated. "Please don't be mad?" he asked, feeling like a child again. The last time he said that was when he was 12. He'd come home late, around 10 o'clock at night, because he tried to leave town, to where he didn't know, just as long as it was away from home, preferably somewhere sunny and warm, like California or Mexico. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, and so he walked back home. His mom flipped her shit, and he asked his dad to not be angry. Well, he wasn't, not really, he was just disappointed. Lorenzo was grounded for a month.

His mom might be gone now, but he could still expect his dad to ground him for longer this time, or disown him at worst. He hated to disappoint his dad, and he never wanted to do it again, but that's what he was really good at, it seemed.

"I promise I won't be mad." His dad replied.

Lorenzo didn't expect that. Not in a million years would he expect to hear those words come from his dad's mouth. Lorenzo looked up at his father, at his greying hair that was once darker, at his crooked nose that Lorenzo inherited, and finally at his eyes that were so dark that they seemed black, but the coldness had left them after so many years.

"Lorenzo, does being with Chet make you happy?" his father asked. Lorenzo nodded. "Then it's fine with me." His dad stated.

Lorenzo stood up and set his glass on the desk before giving his dad a hug, which his dad returned. Lorenzo didn't realise he was crying until his dad pulled away and brushed a tear away with his thumb.

"Lorenzo, I really do care about you, and I'm so sorry if you ever felt like I didn't." he stated, making eye contact with his son. Lorenzo sniffled and rubbed his eyes, wincing when he touched his black eye.

"However." His dad began.

That didn't sound good.

"I think we should set up some rules while you and Chet are still living here." His dad stated, setting his wine on the desk.

Lorenzo groaned. "Really? Rules?" he asked.

"Yep." replied his dad. He opened the door and walked out. "Come on, Lorenzo." He called from the hallway.

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and reluctantly shuffled out of the office. Why did there always have to be rules?

End Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8 - The Rules

Chapter 8 – The Rules

Lorenzo shuffled into the kitchen and made his way over to his seat next to Chet, while Rock and Spud were introducing themselves to his dad. Alice pulled Lorenzo's ice pack out of the freezer and handed it to him, and he put it back on his black eye. Chet silently asked him how it went, and Lorenzo gave a thumbs-up.

"So Chet," his dad began, turning to face his sons, "I talked to Lorenzo, and I decided that as long as you two live here, we should establish some rules."

Chet and Lorenzo looked at each other, silently agreeing that this was not going to be good.

"First of all, Chet, we'll move your stuff into the spare room, and that will be your room from now on, and under no circumstances are you two allowed to go into each other's rooms unless I say otherwise." He stated.

"What if it's an emergency?" Chet asked.

"I can't think of any situation where you need to enter Lorenzo's room urgently. Which brings me to the second rule: no sex."

"Aw, come on!" Chet complained. Lorenzo snorted.

"I mean it, Chet. You will not have sex in my house."

"But-"

"Chet, how would you feel if I had sex with your mother?"

Chet blushed, while Lorenzo, Rock and Spud sniggered, causing Chet to glare at them.

"Lastly, any breaking of rules 1 and 2 will result in immediate grounding, meaning no TV and no videogames until you go off to college."

Chet looked like he was going to either burst an artery or break something. Lorenzo put a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed, a silent signal telling Chet to not to do anything stupid.

Chet calmed down a bit. "Any rules against making out?" he asked.

Lorenzo's dad looked at his wife, who shrugged her shoulders. "I guess not." He replied. Chet grinned and turned to face Lorenzo, cocking an eyebrow. Lorenzo stuck out his tongue at him.

"Dudes, get a room." Spud interjected.

"They can't, remember? Rule number 2: no sex. That's gotta suck, dude." Rock joked. Chet scowled at him.

"Hey guys, how about we play Rock Storm?" Lorenzo cut in. The Rockers cheered and the boys went into the living room, Rock and Spud crashing onto the couch while Chet and Lorenzo set up the Game Box.

They played Rock Storm until it got dark, and Rock and Spud had to go home. When they left, Lorenzo turned on the TV to watch the Race, shuffling closer to Chet and wrapping an arm around him.

"So, who do you think is gonna get sent home this time? My money's on the Best Friends." Lorenzo stated.

"Same. They're so boring." Chet replied, laying his head on Lorenzo's shoulder.

"You two look cosy."

The boys looked up to see Alice standing in the doorway holding a bowl of popcorn.

"Do you boys want some?" she asked.

"Yes, please." They replied. She set the bowl on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, while Lorenzo reached out to grab a handful of popcorn.

"Gimme some?" Chet asked. Lorenzo looked at him and held a piece of popcorn in front of his face, before putting it into his own mouth. But Lorenzo didn't have a chance to chew, because Chet kissed him, reaching into Lorenzo's mouth with his tongue and snatching the piece of popcorn, pulling it into his own mouth and already chewing on it before Lorenzo could register what happened.

"Thanks, babe." Chet joked. Lorenzo rolled his eyes, but also smiled. He looked back at the TV, and for once, he was happy to be home.

The End


	9. Bonus - Chapter 9 - Parkour Kung Fu

Bonus Chapter – Chapter 9 – Parkour Kung Fu

"Fucking finally!" Chet exclaimed, throwing popcorn at the TV. He and Lorenzo were watching the Race, and the final 7 teams were in Las Vegas. Devin had just realised his love for Carrie, after he almost fed her to the lions. Devin rescued her, and they were staring into each other's eyes when Carrie noticed a light shining from behind Devin's ribcage. She kissed him, causing them to come in last place, but they were saved by the non-elimination round.

"It took him 19 fucking episodes and a break-up." Chet complained.

"I know, right? He's such an idiot." Lorenzo replied.

"Devin. More like DUR-vin."

Lorenzo laughed. "Dude, the Police Cadets should totally win." He stated.

"Definitely. They're so awesome!" Chet responded.

"They've got some serious skills."

"Bro."

"What?"

"Bro."

"What?"

"DUDE."

"WHAT?" Lorenzo was getting a little annoyed at that point.

"I just had the coolest idea."

"Which is…?"

Chet leaned in close and whispered:

"Parkour Kung Fu."

Lorenzo's eyes widened and a grin spread from ear to ear across his face.

"That… is… GENIUS." He whispered back, with stars in his eyes.

"I know." Chet said in his normal voice, pulling away. "It would be so awesome! Like, hyah!" He jumped off the couch and posed like he was punching the air. "And, like, hwah! Hyah!" He did a backflip onto the coffee table and dealt a roundhouse kick to an invisible enemy.

"Yeah, and, like, yah!" Lorenzo leapt from the couch to the coffee table in a single bound and put himself into a fighting stance.

"You are a formidable enemy, Master Chet. But I have a secret weapon that will bring you to your knees." He joked.

"Ha! There is no weapon that can defeat me! But show me this weapon, if you must!" Chet replied, playing along.

Lorenzo grabbed the front of Chet's shirt and pulled his stepbrother in for a kiss. Chet moaned, placing his hands on Lorenzo's waist and opening his mouth so Lorenzo could use his tongue to explore the warm cavern, which was still buttery from the popcorn.

They heard a creak from underneath them and before they knew it, the coffee table gave way and they ended up on the floor. They looked at the remains of the coffee table: two perfect halves and a whole lot of splinters. They looked each other.

"Your dad's going to kill us." Chet stated.

"You think?" Lorenzo replied sarcastically.

The End


	10. Bonus - Christmas Chapter

Bonus Chapter – It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Lorenzo was woken up by someone turning on the light.

"Ah! My eyes! They burn!" he exclaimed, putting his hands over his eyes in an attempt to block out the light. However, that also meant he never saw his stepbrother jump onto his bed, making him bounce.

"AH! OKAY, I'M AWAKE!" he screamed.

"About time." Chet joked.

Lorenzo looked at Chet, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"This better be good, Chet." He stated. Chet's grin grew wider (if that was even possible), and he forcefully pulled Lorenzo out of bed and into the living room, where their parents were sitting on the couch. There was a plastic tree in the corner with tacky holiday decorations on it and a number of gifts surrounding its base.

 _Oh right_ , Lorenzo thought slowly, _it's Christmas_.

"Were you guys-" He stopped mid-sentence to yawn. "-Waiting for me?" he finished sleepily.

"Well, we didn't want you to miss out on the fun." His dad answered. "And Chet, I thought I told you to go wake him up GENTLY."

Chet's grin nearly split his face as he shrugged his shoulders innocently. He leaped over to the tree and grabbed the biggest present addressed to him, while Lorenzo shuffled over lazily to join him.

"We can wait if you want to sleep, Lorenzo." His dad stated. Chet looked at Lorenzo with his eyes wide and his mouth pouting. Lorenzo thought he looked like a puppy. He sighed. He just couldn't bring himself to say no to that adorable face.

"Nah, it's okay." He replied to his dad. He picked up the present closest to him. Upon feeling, it was soft and squishy under the wrapping, so it must have been an item of clothing. He gently pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a dark green, hand-knitted sweater with a white L embroidered on the front.

"What do you think, Lorenzo?" asked Alice.

 _She must have made it herself_ , Lorenzo thought. She put time, effort, and love into this sweater, and he wasn't even her son. He smiled.

"I love it. Thank you." He answered. He pulled on the sweater, just in time to see Chet unwrap his sweater, which was red with a gold C embroidered on the front. Chet tried to put it on, but got stuck. Lorenzo laughed.

The rest of their presents were mostly videogame related, and the boys spent all their savings on a new coffee table for their parents, but it didn't come in for another week.

After opening presents, Alice made the boys a cup of hot chocolate before shooing them out of the kitchen so she could work on breakfast.

Lorenzo went into the living room with Chet, wondering what his mom was doing right now. Was she on her own on Christmas? Did she find someone new? Was she thinking about Lorenzo, too?

Lorenzo looked back in the direction of the kitchen, and he could hear Alice humming "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" while making waffles. Lorenzo realised that his mom was here the whole time.

"I've got a present for you." Chet stated, interrupting his train of thought.

Lorenzo looked at Chet, who was grinning suspiciously, and Lorenzo looked up to see the mistletoe that Chet was holding above them. _Of course_ , he thought.

"Merry Christmas." Said Chet.

"I don't know what I expected." Lorenzo stated, before pulling Chet in for a kiss.

The End


	11. Bonus - This Is Halloween

**I was going to upload this before the Christmas chapter, but I didn't because Christmas came along, so it would only make sense to upload the Christmas chapter at Christmas, but here is the Halloween fic, even though Halloween is so far away.**

Bonus Chapter – This Is Halloween

"Lorenzo, you know that candy is for the trick-or-treaters!" Chet yelled from the hallway.

"Don't care!" Lorenzo retorted. Their parents were out, and he was stuffing his face with chocolates, hard candies, lollipops, you name it, it was there in the bowl of candy sitting in his lap. He was watching re-runs of the Race again. He couldn't remember the last time he and Chet fought like that.

Chet walked into the living room with his hair greased back and fake fangs in his mouth.

"If you eat all that, you're going to make yourself sick." He stated.

"What the hell are you up to?" Lorenzo asked.

"Give me a minute." Chet left the living room and Lorenzo went back to watching TV. Chet came back wearing one of those fancy ruffled shirts, black pants, and a black cloak, held together by a golden clasp with a big red stone in the middle. Lorenzo pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is that a vampire costume?" he asked.

"Yes." Chet stated, matter-of-factly.

"It looks ridiculous."

"It's the best I could do on short notice."

"But it's so cliché."

"Tch. Whatever. I'm going trick-or-treating. Do not eat all that candy."

An hour later, Lorenzo was still on the couch watching TV, except now the candy was all gone and Lorenzo felt like he was about to throw up. He heard the front door open and close, and the next second Chet was standing in the doorway.

"You ate all the candy, didn't you?" Chet asked, already knowing the answer.

"Maybe." Lorenzo replied. "Are you going to eat that?" he asked, looking at Chet's small bucket of candy.

"Yes." Chet retorted. "And you shouldn't have anymore, you're going to be sick."

"Yes, dear." Lorenzo replied sarcastically.

"Be careful what you say to me, or I will suck your blood!" Chet said in a bad Romanian accent.

"I don't know about that, but I'll let you suck my dick if you want."

Chet blushed and Lorenzo laughed, the pressure on his stomach causing him to throw up into the empty bowl. Chet helped him get to the bathroom, where Lorenzo spent the rest of his evening throwing up into the toilet while Chet held his hair back.

"How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?" Lorenzo asked.

"Because the guy is an idiot who eats more than he can digest." Chet answered.

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot, aren't I?"

"Yes, yes you are."

The End


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